August 22, 2013

Lorde has announced more dates for her upcoming North American tour this fall. In order to promote her upcoming "Pure Heroine" album, the New Zealand singer will hit the stage at Los Angeles' Fonda Theater on September 24.

After new photos from the set of "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" sparked rumors that the show had a Trayvon Martin-inspired episode, executive producer Warren Leight confirms the speculation. In fact, the long-running crime drama series combines the much-talked about shooting case and another headline-grabbing issue, the Paula Deen scandal, in one episode.

Twentieth Century Fox has released first trailer for "The Book Thief", the adaptation of Markus Zusak's 2006 bestseller. With its heartwarming story and the star power lent by Oscar winner Geoffrey Rush and Emily Watson, the WWII drama certainly looks promising. As the trailer suggests, there is also a strong performance from newcomer Sophie Nelisse that surely makes the film even worth anticipating.

Comedian Katt Williams has given a fan $1,000 after learning that the wheelchair-bound woman needs kidney transplant. According to a TMZ report, a woman was seen crying after Williams' show in Boston on Sunday, August 18. Security guards approached her to check her condition.

Drake has unveiled the official artworks for his upcoming album, "Nothing Was the Same". "New Album Date...NOTHING WAS THE SAME SEPTEMBER 24th," he wrote on Twitter on Wednesday, August 21, and attached a link to his website.

It's been awhile since pop/dance superstar Justin Timberlake and Taylor Gang Records rapper Juicy J have recorded a song together, the tune being the "Chop Me Up" track on JT's 2006 album "FutureSex/LoveSounds". They now reunite on Juicy J's forthcoming third solo album "Stay Trippy" track "The Woods", produced by Timbaland who also worked on their last team-up.

Randy Jackson may not be leaving "American Idol" after all. The former judge on the veteran singing competition is said to replace Jimmy Iovine, who reportedly won't return to the show after three years serving as in-house mentor.

"Today" show's anchor Jenna Wolfe and her partner NBC News foreign correspondent Stephanie Gosk have welcomed a baby girl. Wolfe gave birth to the couple's bundle of joy on August 21 at 7:31 P.M., according to the news site. The baby arrived weighing in at 7 pounds, 13 ounces.

Five-time Dove Awards winner Wayne Haun leads all nominees in this year's Gospel Music Association's 44th annual Dove Awards. The songwriter/producer earns the most nods with a total of 15 to top the list of nominations for Christian and gospel music excellence that were revealed Wednesday morning, August 21, at the David Lipscomb University's Allen Arena in Nashville, Tennessee.

Fans will have to wait a little bit longer until J. Cole drops the music video for "Crooked Smile". In a recent interview with Miss Info, the 28-year-old rapper said that he decided to reshoot the whole music video as he was unhappy with the first version.

"Mad Men" may be survived by Ted and Pete when it ends its run after season 7. Kevin Rahm has revealed he's planning a spin-off set in Los Angeles which will focus on his character Ted and Vincent Kartheiser's Pete.

With Vin Diesel seemingly having the voice role as Groot in "Guardians of the Galaxy", it leaves Rocket Raccoon as the only CGI hero that has not found its actor yet. Now, a new report from Latino Review claims that Marvel and director James Gunn have secretly made an official offer to one big star who is a frequent collaborator of Jennifer Lawrence.

First pictures of Paris Jackson after her suicide attempt in June have emerged. Paris dyes her hair and sports new hairdo. According to RadarOnline, which posted Paris' new pictures, they were taken during a graduation ceremony in a therapeutic boarding school in Utah on July 18.

R'n'B artist Brandy was booked to perform in front of a crowd of 90,000 spectators at the First National Bank (FNB) Stadium in Johannesburg, South Africa as part of the festivities for Nelson Mandela Sport and Culture Day. However, when she finally took the stage as the last act of the night, she was left with an audience of no more than 40 people, and was even cut from the televised broadcast.

English-born jazz pianist and National Public Radio (NPR)'s show "Piano Jazz" host Marian McPartland passed away on Tuesday evening, August 20, from natural causes at the ripe old age of 95. The jazz legend died in her Port Washington home in Long Island in New York, where she took a resident job at the Embers Club back in the 1950s and enjoyed long residencies well into the 70s and 80s.

To celebrate their 20th anniversary, the surviving members of Nirvana are releasing a re-issue of the band's final studio album "In Utero", and they are kicking off the festivities by unveiling a director's cut of their 1993 music video "Heart Shaped Box" by Anton Corbijn. Although the clip already appears on Corbijn's Director's Series DVD, this marks the first time it is being made available online.

Hayley Atwell has landed a role in "Cinderella", the live-action version of Disney's classic fairytale. The Golden Globe-nominated actress, who has reprised her role as Peggy Carter in Marvel One-Shot "Agent Carter" and will once again do so in "Captain America: The Winter Soldier", is tapped to star as the heroine's birth mother.

Daniel Ramos, a photographer who was involved in a camera scuffle with Kanye West at LAX in July, has filed an assault and battery lawsuit against the "Black Skinhead" rapper. Accompanied by his attorney Gloria Allred, Ramos spoke to reporters in a press conference on Wednesday, August 21.

More than thirty years since the first film was released, "Rambo" is poised to get a TV treatment. Entertainment One has teamed up with Avi Lerner's Nu Image to develop and produce a TV series based on the action movies starring Sylvester Stallone.

Kit Harington shows up in the teaser trailer for "Pompeii", in which he stars as Milo, a slave turned invincible gladiator who must fight his way out of the arena in order to save his love from a corrupt Roman Senator. With the outfit that shows his tight, toned abs, the "Game of Thrones" actor looks even more manly with his "ready to fight" pose.

Drake has been added to the lineup of this year's MTV Video Music Awards, MTV confirms. The 26-year-old artist then shared his excitement on Twitter, writing, "Excited to announce I'll be performing at the 2013 @MTV VMA's!!!"

"Survivor" has revealed the 20 castaways of its "Blood vs. Water" edition. The upcoming season of the CBS long-running reality show will bring back 10 former contestants who will compete with their loved ones for $1 million prize.

Dr. Phil McGraw, who recently landed in hot water because of a controversial question about drunk sex he wrote on Twitter, has apologized for offending people with the Twitter post. Senior vice president/publicity for CBS, Stacey Luchs, explains in a statement to USA Today that the tweet was written to "invoke discussion" with his followers.

Following his arrest late last month in South Carolina under suspicions of driving under the influence and driving without a license, hip-hop artist and actor DMX was again apprehended by police late Tuesday, August 20 in his home state. The 42-year-old rapper's outstanding warrant stemming from this recent case was one of the grounds for the police to take him into custody, his third time to make a visit to jail this year.

As it turns out, Natalie Portman is no longer attached to be the female lead in "Macbeth". The Hollywood Reporter learns that the Nina Sayers of "Black Swan" has been replaced by another Oscar winner Marion Cotillard in the feature version of the William Shakespeare tragedy from StudioCanal and Film4.

The Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) has released its first annual Studio Responsibility Index report regarding LGBT characters in films released by 6 major motion picture studios during the 2012 calendar year. Universal Pictures tops the list with 25% of its 16 releases featuring characters representing LGBT community. 20th Century Fox, meanwhile, gets failing grades with 0%.

David Cassidy faces another drunk driving charge. The former teen idol was arrested in upstate New York and taken to jail on Wednesday, August 21 after he was pulled over for driving with his high-beams on when he wasn't supposed to.

Country star Luke Bryan scores his second No. 1 album on Billboard 200 with his "Crash My Party". According to Nielsen Soundscan, the album landed at the chart's top spot after selling nearly 528,000 in its first week.

"Prison Break" actor Wentworth Miller has come out of the closet. Unlike WWE star Darren Young who told a reporter about the issue during an encounter at LAX or "Fred" actor Lucas Cruikshank who revealed his sexual preference in a YouTube video, the Michael Scofield depicter opened up about his sexuality in a letter to the director of a Russian film festival.

James Franco gets his own TV series. The actor/director/screenwriter has added a TV show to his already packed schedule as Ovation officially announces "James Franco Presents", which will be hosted and executive produced by the Academy Award nominee.

Having been attached since April, Benedict Cumberbatch has recently decided to exit "Crimson Peak", Legendary Pictures' upcoming horror movie that has "Pacific Rim" director Guillermo del Toro as the man behind the lens. The Hollywood Reporter adds details to the news first reported by Variety, revealing that his departure is not due to scheduling conflicts.